If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Giant Bomb did a 7 hour live stream of a few games (few originals, few ports) and as well as some of the system functions. There's also a few quick looks of New Super Mario Bros. U, Nintendo Land and ZombiU on their main site. All worth watching.

Granted watching it only, anecdotally: a lot of ports seem sloppy with some poor frame rate issues, the WiiU OS is really slow, with some poor loading on games too. The online system is a bit sketchy, with some good ideas but powered by Nintendo's "What's the internet?" mantra - the biggest example is that you can create a Nintendo ID (like your 360 gamertag, or profile on PSN or Steam). Unlike those bracketed examples, the profile you create is limited to the WiiU you create it on. You can make another account on another WiiU, but it requires deleting your profile, as well as 'activity on the eShop'. You also cannot use the same name.

Watching that stream, I went in being perfectly happy with not really caring for the system, but then I went from that to "Wow...there's a lot of crappy stuff about the WiiU." Most of the games too come with a day 1 update, as well as the system itself which comes with something like a 1gb instant update. Oh, also, there's almost no reason to get the standard WiiU bundle if you're going to get one, just go straight for the 'deluxe' one or whatever it's called that has the Nintendo Land pack-in.

I have mine on pre-order for the Europe release that is happening on the 30th November, although it will be a Christmas present, so I won't be getting it until the 25th December. This will be the first console I have ever owned personally, as well as the first console owned by my immediate family since my brother's Master System (if you exclude an Amiga.)

Early reports have not been overly encouraging and I do have some doubts as to whether Nintendo have been successful in copying some of the elements that are standard with its rivals. There is still so much confusion over the power of the system too, with some developers saying it is a big step up, to others saying it struggles to match the current gen. I don't think we can really judge with the launch games, as some will have most likely been rushed out and developers do not know how best to utilise the hardware yet, but it is worrying to hear that there are games having some nasty frame rate dips. I'm also worried about reports regarding the speed of the OS, which is meant to be very sluggish at the moment. Hopefully this is just some early teething problems that can be resolved with software updates, but it does suggest that the system itself might just be slow.

On the positive side, the games themselves seem promising. Mario is being called the best 2D Mario game in a long time by pretty much all reviewers, whilst Nintendo Land is supposed to offer a great glimpse into the potential of the two screens, even if the quality of some of the mini-games isn't very consistent. ZombiU is getting mixed reviews, but the positive ones are painting it as an excellent survival horror game, which is likely turning off some people, but sounds perfect to me. Also, the many ports are meant to be just as good as all other versions. There is still a lack of a lot of the games getting reviews, but the ones we have are sounding very positive indeed.

So, still optimistic for when mine arrives and starting to get an idea what games to pick up with it. ZombiU is coming in the pack I ordered and I'll also be definitely getting New Super Mario Bros. U. I'm also likely to get Darksiders 2 and BLOPS2. Other potentials are Ninja Gaiden 3 (meant to be significantly better then other versions, but still mixed reviews,) Scribblenaughts Unlimited, Tekkan Tag Tournament 2 and possibly FIFA 2013 (although this meant to be closer to 2012 then the other console versions, so might wait for next year's.) There is definitely no shortage of stuff there.

Giant Bomb did a 7 hour live stream of a few games (few originals, few ports) and as well as some of the system functions. There's also a few quick looks of New Super Mario Bros. U, Nintendo Land and ZombiU on their main site. All worth watching.

Granted watching it only, anecdotally: a lot of ports seem sloppy with some poor frame rate issues, the WiiU OS is really slow, with some poor loading on games too. The online system is a bit sketchy, with some good ideas but powered by Nintendo's "What's the internet?" mantra - the biggest example is that you can create a Nintendo ID (like your 360 gamertag, or profile on PSN or Steam). Unlike those bracketed examples, the profile you create is limited to the WiiU you create it on. You can make another account on another WiiU, but it requires deleting your profile, as well as 'activity on the eShop'. You also cannot use the same name.

Watching that stream, I went in being perfectly happy with not really caring for the system, but then I went from that to "Wow...there's a lot of crappy stuff about the WiiU." Most of the games too come with a day 1 update, as well as the system itself which comes with something like a 1gb instant update. Oh, also, there's almost no reason to get the standard WiiU bundle if you're going to get one, just go straight for the 'deluxe' one or whatever it's called that has the Nintendo Land pack-in.

I've watched the whole stream live, I'm now completely exhausted because it ended at 3AM.

And seeing most of the launch day releases are pretty bad with a few exceptions like Mario Brothers and Zombie U I think it's safe to wait a couple of years before buying one.

What I've seen so far is that the screenmote ( or whatever it's called) is breaking game experiences because you have to keep looking up and down and taking you from the action happening on screen. It's shoehorned in and comes over as a tech demo like the Kinect.

The screenmote aside, some ports are just plain wrecked, like Epic Micky and Batman Arkham City, their framerate is unacceptable.

Yeah, it was a late finish! I'd disagree with Mario too; I thought it looked stale and mediocre. I mean for god's sake, they only unlock manual saving once you've beaten the game! Nintendo really need to catch up.

Actually I am so excited about how the gamepad with screen works. Imagine when you play STALKER, you can look down at your gamepad to see your PDA without the whole main screen being replaced by PDA screen.

Platform launch games always dont look great. Maybe we need to give it some time to see how it works out.

Actually I am so excited about how the gamepad with screen works. Imagine when you play STALKER, you can look down at your gamepad to see your PDA without the whole main screen being replaced by PDA screen.

Platform launch games always dont look great. Maybe we need to give it some time to see how it works out.

I'm with you there. I can understand people saying that it might be a distraction, but you can build that type of thing into the gameplay. ZombiU is a perfect example of this, with you looting a backpack on the game pad, whilst the TV is showing you a behind the shoulder shot. The multiplayer with the game pad player spawning zombies on the map, with the opponent having to survive is inspired too. You could also have a racing game, in which the game pad acts as your rear viewer mirror. My personal hope though is for a space simulator in the style of Freespace, where the pad is your cockpit's console, allowing you to control targeting, power allocation and the like.

There really are a lot of possibilities for the pad, particularly for local multiplayer (never understood this generations instance on prioritising online.). Developers just need to use their imagination.

With both MS and Sony doing the "We can do this too!" thing regarding the second screen, with Smart Glass and Vita respectively. I wouldn't be at all surprised if something like that comes as standard with both their next gen machines. Given the huge rise in the popularity of tablets, it seems like the logical way to go.

I wasn't going to get a Wii U but then (wow!) my brother surprised me for my birthday. It is very much like a gigantic Nintendo DS in your family room. That is a good thing I guess? But it's awkward. I'm enjoying New Super Mario Brothers Wii U Turbo Ultra II Etc.

The controller itself is very cool. I know this won't matter to everyone, but I'm really loving the d-pad. It's so bad on Xbox 360, but Nintendo knows how to make them. So I can't wait to play retro games on it!

Well, I've had my Wii U for a week now and got some reasonable amount of playtime out of it. Not having owned a games console, it is not simple to make any direct comparisons, but I can certainly say, having used my brother's 360 a bit, it seems much more geared towards playing games. This is a good thing in my eyes. Some may complain about the lack of media centre fluff (you can't even play DVDs on it,) but I couldn't care less about that. The way games are advertised also seems a lot less glaring then the 360's approach, which shoves every bit of DLC and and new game down your throat. Here you are instead presented with an icon surrounded by a few Miis who are playing that particular game. Ever so often a speech bubble with something they have posted on the Game's Miiverse will appear. It is a nice touch that feels like community building, rather then the advertising it really is.

The store seems okay, if nothing spectacular. But it is nicely tucked away, so easily ignored if you are not interested in buying digitally. As is to be expected, pricing is awful and I haven't bought anything yet as a result. There are a few indie and e-shop only games that are reasonably priced, but I have been spoiled by Steam and can't see myself buying anything from there unless prices drop.

Outside of that there isn't too much to report on the non-game software side of things. There is Netflix (don't have an account,) and LoveFilm (only trailers were working when I tried.) There is also TVii, but that is not out in the UK yet.

I've not seen too much of the potential of the game pad with the games I have, excluding the excellent ZombiU, but there are a few nice touches in the others. Surprisingly, it is New Super Mario Bros. U that is the least interesting. The only thing really of note is the ability to play solely on the pad. However, the assumption is that if you are playing with the pad you are not using the TV. This means there is no way to turn off the pad's screen, unless you use a wiimote. I personally don't find the wiimote particularly comfortable when used sideways and the pro pad is not useable in this game, for some reason. Not major, but not being able to have the screen off whilst using the gamepad doesn't help the already short battery life.

Playing in multiplayer allows the game pad to be used by someone to place blocks in the world. It is an okay idea, but doesn't get used properly from what I have seen. As levels are designed to be played without this assistance, it just becomes a bit dull for the player using the pad. Strangely, it is the non-Nintendo made platformer, Rayman Legends, that looks more promising in regards to using the game pad features, but there is still a little wait for that. Still, NSMBU is a great game in its own rights.

I also have CoD:BLOPS 2, which uses the second screen in place of split screen. This works quite nicely, although it is probably only really necessary when playing with more than 2 people.

The real star is ZombiU though. Slowly moving through the bowels of the Tower of London, with the Alien esque beeping of the scanner in your hand. When you suddenly hear the sound of the scanner picking up movement and you start having to glance down at the pad as more and more blips appear on the map and they edge ever closer, is a truly unique experience. I'm certain the game would not be anywhere near as intense without the need to balance the two screens, turning what could be a weakness into a great positive. Having (some) of your inventory right there instead of hidden in a menu, is also a simple, but effective feature. Hopefully we could see people utilising this to move away from the increasingly boring two weapon limit of many FPS games.

ZombiU is also helped by just being a really great game. It is true survival, like I would not expect from a console game, let alone a launch title console game. Ammo is very scarce and you have to really think about when to use your weapons or when to go to the trusty cricket bat. The levels can be a little narrow, which means there are usually not many options for you to take, but the claustrophobia does work in its favour too.

So, all in all, I am very happy with my purchase. Mario may not be unique, but still does what it knows to do very well. ZombiU shows just how much potential there really is in the system though and I can't wait to see some more of the unannounced games.